2023 NBA Draft: Breaking Down Detroit Pistons Draft Scenarios
The Detroit Pistons had the worst record in the NBA this past season mostly due to Cade Cunningham only playing in 12 games. They have an extremely young, yet promising core with Cunningham, Jaden Ivey, and Jalen Duren. There’s about three realistic draft options they have and a lot of it could come down to how the prospects interview with the team. Let’s dive into their options.
Cam Whitmore
Cam Whitmore is the early favorite to go number five as of today widely due to his positional fit, high ceiling, and talent. He is an explosive forward that has an NBA ready frame and has elite athleticism. His ability to run the floor and play up-tempo would be perfect next to a guy like Cunningham as he loves the hit ahead passes in transition and is an extremely good playmaker.
A trio of Ivey, Whitmore, and Duren would be the most athletic in the NBA. That group of three would absolutely thrive playing next to Cunningham due to how much he loves playing next to lob threats and players who thrive in the open floor. However, the Villanova forward will be more of a project than some might anticipate.
Whitmore struggles heavily as a playmaker so playing next to guys like Cunningham and Ivey would take so much pressure off him as a passer and it’ll allow him to focus more on scoring. He is an extremely talented shot-maker but is inconsistent at this stage and will need a couple of years to polish up on both ends of the floor. This would indicate that the Pistons are willing to swing for the highest ceiling if they elect to draft Whitmore.
Jarace Walker
Jarace Walker is an extremely realistic option here at pick number five as he’s someone who you can play right away and be effective while also giving you a positional fit. Walker is a defensive-minded power forward and he’s extremely good as an off-ball defender with his rotations, rim protection, and awareness.
He is quite versatile defensively as he’s comfortable playing any ball-screen coverage needed and has switchability. The sleeper skill the Houston forward possesses is his passing ability and high feel for the game. Cunningham and Ivey will get a lot of the attention out of the pick and roll so having a big like Walker who can consistently make great reads out of the short roll will be huge to their success.
The projected top seven pick has a versatile offensive game as he has shown shot-making flashes, an improving shooter, a solid handle, a good floater, and finisher around the rim. Walker would make an impact right away and a big man duo of him and Duren would give you one of the best defensive, strongest, and high feel big man duos in the NBA.
Ausar Thompsom
Ausar Thompson out of the Overtime Elite League is the least likely option out of the three prospects named but his fit on this Pistons team is underrated. Thompson would fill in at the wing position next to Ivey and it could easily give them the most athletic wing duo in the NBA. Thompson doesn’t quite space the floor enough to be respectable as a shooter, but on the other hand he’s the better shooter amongst the Thompson twins and he has upside to be a solid spot-up shooter as he has shown encouraging improvements over the last couple of years.
The high-level wing has a chance to be the best defensive wing out of this draft with his ridiculous lateral quickness, reaction speed, and defensive instincts. He averaged a ridiculous 5.2 stocks this past season showcasing his defensive playmaking ability. Thompson would give the Pistons a potential lockdown defender who could defend one through three right away eventually power forwards as his frame continues to fill out.
The high upside defensive wing has impressive secondary playmaking skills that would be a nice piece to the Pistons offense next to Cunningham and Ivey. It’s not expected that the Pistons go this route, but I definitely wouldn’t count the chances of this happening out.
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